Info about me and my books; miscellaneous musings

Books & Boxes

At the end of Back to the Future, after Marty changes the future by getting his dad (George) to sock Biff in the nose, and returns in the Delorian, there’s a scene where George — played by the brilliant and unpredictable Crispin Glover — carries in boxes of his new book, having been transformed into a successful author. It seems punching that bully in the nose was just what he needed to gain the confidence to send his short stories into magazines and launch a writing career, making for a completely different future for everyone in the McFly clan.

As a kid I was transfixed by that scene because I didn’t know that authors got boxes and boxes of their own books when they came out. I actually doubted that scene was true — what would an author even do with so many copies of his own book? I’ve since learned that it, is indeed, true. I came home from my day job and found three such boxes waiting for me.

But what was a banner day for me was one of dashed hopes for my noble tabby friend, Bertram. Bertie loves boxes, and especially freshly opened ones. He’s shown particular affinity for Random House boxes, having spent most of last winter in one. He waited patiently for us to empty the boxes so he could sit in one. One in particular caught his eye, since it had a striking resemblance to his former box love.

“Do you want help with that?” He asked as I bustled about doing other things. “Because I can help you unpack that if you want.”

Well, we finally went to work, making sure to empty the one he most coveted… the big flat one.

But when I set the box on the floor for him, Charlotte got to it first.

Bertie being too much the gentleman to throw her out, that’s how the story ends. I’m still not sure what to do with all these books, though.

P.S. using a random method by which no cats were exploited, I’ve selected a winner from the email list to get a copy of the book. The winner is Rachel, a person of excellent character and rotund cat that I sometimes even forget went to a lousy college for kids who couldn’t get into UND. Congratulations, Rachel!